INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN INTERVIEWER RATINGS: THE IMPACT OF STANDARDIZATION, CONSENSUS DISCUSSION, AND SAMPLING ERROR ON THE VALIDITY OF A STRUCTURED INTERVIEW

This research investigated empirical issues regarding the validity of individual interviewers'( N = 62) ratings collected after a structured interview. Each interviewer rated an average of 25 interviewees. One hypothesis examined but not supported was that systematic interviewer errors will attenuate interview validity when data are aggregated across interviewers. Also investigated was the validity of ratings averaged across interviewers compared to consensus ratings; consensus ratings were shown to have significantly but probably not practically higher validities. Third, a meta-analysis of individual interviewer validities revealed that all of the variance in validities could be attributed to sampling error. Results and implications are discussed.     

SCHOOL-WIDE LITERACY WORKSHOPS

A population of students attending a rural elementary school (grades one to five) in the state of Washington participated in literacy workshops for ten weeks. The literacy workshops took place during school time from 1:25 to 2:25, Monday through Thursday. There were a total of 21 groups (based on ability and age) ranging in size from 11 to 27 members. Comparing informal reading inventory scores using t-tests, significant effects were found for both boys and girls, as well as for all ethnic groups. Scores measuring attitude were not found to be significant.     

Effect of relationship status on perceptions of physical attractiveness for alternative partners

Coupled people, those in a relationship, devaluate the attractiveness of an alternative partner compared to noncoupled people (D. J. Johnson & C. E. Rusbult, 1989). The present research tested two competing hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. According to the motivational hypothesis, coupled and noncoupled people initially perceive opposite‐sex others as equally attractive. Coupled people, however, recalibrate their perceptions. In contrast, the perceptual hypothesis proposes that coupled people do not perceive opposite‐sex others as attractive. The present study tested these competing hypotheses by measuring both involuntary and self‐reported perceptions of attractiveness of opposite‐sex models. Supporting the motivational hypothesis, coupled participants (n = 38) and noncoupled participants (n = 34) exhibited the same degree of pupil dilation, however, coupled participants reported lower attractiveness ratings.     

Predicting from expressed vocational choice: a review

Information on the predictive validity of expressed vocational choice was gathered in a review of large-sample longitudinal studies. These results indicate that, in general, a person's expressed vocational choice predicts his future employment about as well as interest inventories or combinations of personality and background characteristics. Expressed vocational and educational field choices are moderately stable over one- to five-year periods during and after college. Difficulties and shortcomings in past research are discussed, and recommendations are made for future research on the predictive validity of expressed choice. Implications of these results for the practicing counselor are also considered.